Introduction
What is the psychological effect of war on society? There are many viewpoints and many theories. Things to be considered are the effect of war on society as a whole, including the changes in economics, military strength, defense ability, patriotism, emotional hysteria, etc. In the smaller picture of these psychological factors which make up the whole, the effect on the individual involved in the battle conflicts, the fear and apprehension that intimidates his family, the emotional separation that interferes with the relationship between a man and woman; and the effect of war on an individual who has to return to a normal, everyday society after being involved in man-to-man arms conflict that is a battle of wits, cruelty, and force simply to stay alive.
The rehabilitation of a soldier from conflict to a peaceful, materialistic society is a problem that most people try not to think about. But what of a man who is trained to be wary twenty-four-hours a day? The least noise, movement, or shadow might possibly take his life the next instant. When returned seven thousand miles to a formerly familiar-yet entirely different-environment, does a trained soldier suddenly forget all of these things which have become instinct to him? Does he suddenly become a peaceful, docile person concerned only with "will the Giants win on Sunday?" But over and beyond these problems which beset every returning soldier, what of the man who has become a disabled veteran? What of the young man who has experienced all the forms of battle and has left not his life but part of his body on foreign soil? What hidden emotional scars does he possess? This is basically the plot of The Virgin and the Veteran by . Mr. Kyle apparently has an inexhaustible supply of sociological problems which confront our complex society today, and he uses the modern fictional prose, often called a "factual novel," to explore these questions.
Supposedly, the U.S. is a peaceful nation dedicated to the principle of freedom. However, in the twentieth century, with over two-thirds of it gone, there have been only thirteen years, and seven of these were during the Great Depression, that a foreign soil has not been occupied by U.S. troops. What, who and where are the consequences of this military force? In 1944, many months and deaths before the end of World War II, Herbert Hoover said, "Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. And it is youth who must inherit the tribulations, the sorrow, and the triumphs that are the aftermath of war."
Although the U.S. has not officially been at war since 1945, official figures state that over 88,237 men have died while serving in the U.S. military forces since that time. Official figures are always rather vague and they have no actual meaning to the average person, but these official figures would be the same if Orlando or Springfield or the city of
Niagara Falls were suddenly to become missing from the map of the U.S. However, this is not quite true, for the majority of these deaths were of young men of draft age. Relating these figures to the correct percentage of the average age of young men in military service, it would be the same as if every young man of draft age in a city the size of Philadelphia were to suddenly die. This, however, is not the total loss in a war, for many more men are injured than are killed. Since the beginning of 1950 there have been more than 286,600 men, again young men of draft age, that have been injured during service in the armed forces. Admittedly, many of these wounds were not of major significance, but then again, many were! Of the abovementioned casualties, over 183,000 have occurred in Vietnam. Because of the nature of the conflict in Vietnam, a guerilla war, a higher percentage of these injuries are crippling or involve loss of limbs or various parts of the body.
Recently, a report was circulated to the newspapers about how great morale was in the amputee section in a Saigon hospital. It is admirable that after a man has lost part of his body, his morale is good. But the important question is, how high does his morale remain when he is put back into the mainstream of life? Particularly, life in a society which places-a premium on youth, vigor, physical fitness, and where everyone strives to be one of the "beautiful people." Does a man's outlook remain cheerful when there are no other buddies in the same condition, or does he become bitter, nasty and egocentric, thinking only of himself?
With these thoughts in mind, perhaps it is a little easier to understand Johnny in The Virgin and the
Veteran. But Johnny is a special type of amputee: Johnny has lost his testicles, which inturn means the inability to procreate. Although many disagree with Freud concerning sex being man's basic drive, no one would disagree that the desire to survive is basic in human nature. And thus we are returned to the theory of the sex drive. Each man searches for immortality, but there are few that are chosen to be great. However, all men may achieve immortality by producing a lineage. Certainly this ability to produce children is a form of security for the attaining of immortality. But when this security is suddenly taken away, and seemingly without cause, what devastation does this wreak upon a person?
Many years ago Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." This inspired a nation. However, more neuroses are based on fear or anxiety than any other cause. Sometimes this anxiety may be real and sometimes neurotic (an anxiety in regard to a danger we do not know) or it may be a combination of both. In Johnny's case we are presented with both. The fear of war and what it can do to mortal man and the neurotic fear of loss of sexual prowess which symbolically means death.
The story of a man losing his sex organs as a result of a war wound is not a new story. Certainly Ernest Hemingway made it a topic of polite conversation when he wrote The Sun Also Rises in 1926 after the Great War, the war that was going to end all war. And each succeeding war has produced similar stories of this type. Therefore, the story does not seem any more shocking than our society's lack of a solution to the psychological problems resulting from war. What is so shocking is that everyone knows that the basic problem is created by war, and yet we continue to have wars with an alarming regularity.
Before the twentieth century began and the U.S. had lost over 600,000 men and more than 1,160,000 men had been injured in war, Oscar Wilde summed up the theory of war:
"As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar it will cease to be popular." Mr. Kyle says much the same, in a much more erotic and dramatic manner.
-Dale Gordon, Ph.D.